ETHAN SCOTT
O'GRADY

Artist Statement

Initially creating this body of work, I had intended to make images that authentically represented all different types of queer relationships, love, and the intimacy that two partners can share with one another. This mission was a reaction to how I had seen members of the community portrayed in mass media, and most of it I was not content with. A major consideration for the project was to photograph each pairing in their shared home space, wherever the subjects themselves defined that location. I wanted to investigate how two queer individuals with that shared understanding of societal “otherness” could make their own safe space at home, and what exactly it meant to them and their relationship to have that sanctum. I was awestruck by these people and the places they called home, but I could never really comprehend why I was so infatuated. Months after the creation of the photographs, meeting these couples and being allowed access into these lives that I so deeply connected with, I can now pinpoint what these photos actually mean to me.

At the time of these photographs’ creation, I had never been in a truly romantic relationship. Intimacy, to me, was mostly an idea of fleeting validation of my sexuality. I viewed my identity as a gay man in an almost purely sexual manner, spiritual connection being the least of my priorities. The decision to pursue this body of work was one met with hesitance, because true intimacy and mutual love was a foreignism to me. In essence, the ten couples that welcomed me into their homes were my educators to queer love. A summer of photographing and documenting truly was a personal enlightenment into what I actually value as a queer individual. It not only challenged my misconceptions about the mechanics of companionship, but also squandered my fears of lacking the ability to obtain a healthy, fulfilling relationship. I now know what I consider important when navigating this awfully intimidating sphere of human connection. My overarching ideas of what love as a queer person is, and more importantly what it can be, have forever been shaped by the diverse personalities I have met through this experience. This is not only for them, but it is likewise for any queer-identifying person who fails to believe that their existence is valid.